@Agile: Frankly, I have seen also both sides of the pond and I had good and bad instructors on both sides. My first instructor was in now EASA-land and frankly he was awful. I had some very good FAA instructors, who showed me, among other things, good autorotation techniques. But the main thing that kills people is CFIT in helicopters. I personally think, that there is a unjustified emphasis on autorotations in the current training scheme. My instructor for PPL and CPL was Australian trained (ex mustering pilot, and a bit crazy) and we had quite few flights, where he showed me different scenarios where I would not see obstacles. THAT was helpful.
@Robbie: Oh my. I think you don't realise how that additional training has sharpen your skills.